“A 1 percent increase usually lands around $30,000 in buying power,” says Todd Reynolds, a real estate professional with Goodall Homes. “That’s the difference between a starter home and a bigger home — or a bonus room.”

Higher interest rates, along with higher home prices, may prompt more home buyers to act quickly before costs rise any more.

“They realize the house of their dreams may never be cheaper than it is today,” says Reynolds. “It creates a sense of urgency.”

Economists are predicting that mortgage rates will likely rise to 5 percent or 5.5 percent in 2014.

“Most people realize the [3 percent-range interest rates] are gone, and they’d better be glad to get 4.5 percent,” Jay Bradshaw, an agent in Cumberland, Tenn., told The Tennessean.